


Under a lonely sky

by Anonymous



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Dele freaking out, Good supportive boyfriend Eric Dier, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Nice bit of hurt/comfort maybe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-23 16:17:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18553324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Dele receives a life changing phone call.





	Under a lonely sky

**Author's Note:**

> In this house, Eric still has both of his dogs, Cisco and Clay.

Dele lowered the phone, his heart racing.

He felt sick, excited, panicked. His agent’s words are reverberating in his head.

_They’re all over you, Dele! Started talking figures, asking about your current contract, buy out clauses..._

Barcelona had come knocking. One of the greatest teams in the world.

Dele let the information sink in slowly. It felt utterly surreal.

He exhaled, thinking back to playing in the concrete courts in Milton Keynes, aimlessly kicking a ball around on his own for hours.

Then joining the boys team, finding his feet.

Progressing to MK Dons and tearing up League One.

Then his breakthrough, signing for Spurs.

Now Spurs had been his whole life for four years. A club he adored.

But, _Barcelona_?

He bit his lip. There was no way he could go.

It seemed inconceivable to even _think_ of leaving-

 

The door opened then and Eric walked through, Cisco and Clay trotting obediently next to him.

He unclipped their harnesses and they both ran to Dele immediately, tails wagging.

He leant down, fussing over them both for a minute and kissing their soft fur before they headed off to the kitchen to find a drink and their beds.

"S’freezing out there now…” Eric trailed off before he had barely begun his sentence, frowning. “Del? You ok?”

Dele stood up, trying to get his brain into gear. “Sorry, I… my agent just called.” he said. “I…”

Eric frowned again, stepping closer. “What?"

Dele bit his lip. “He said Barcelona… have contacted him about... me.”

Eric blinked, several emotions crossing his face. The main one being shock. “Barca?” he said quietly.

Dele nodded, scrubbing a hand over his eyes.

“That’s…. huge.” Eric said. “Barcelona, that’s massive.”

He slowly unzipped the gilet he was wearing and absentmindedly discarded it on the side.

Dele watched him, trying to get a handle on his emotions.

“How do you feel?” Eric ventured softly.

Dele shrugged. "Scared and confused.” he eventually settled on.

He bit his lip then, looking at the older man.

“But there’s no way I’m going to Barcelona and leaving you.”

  
Eric’s expression softened. He stepped up close, reaching up and cupping Dele’s chin, stroking his cheek with his thumb.

His blue eyes were gentle.

“I’m not in this equation.” he murmured. “You have to do what’s best for you-“

“Of COURSE you are!” Dele frowned. “You’re the main part of this equation, you idiot.”

Eric studied him intently then. His face held so many emotions.

“You deserve the world, Dele.” he murmured. “Including playing at the highest level.”

Dele could feel the tears stinging his eyes now. “But… not without you.” he said.

“You’re gonna do great things.” Eric smiled then, a soft smile. “Ok? You’ve already done so much, but there is so much more in store for you with football, I know it.”

Dele bit his lip. “I’m not leaving you.” he repeated quietly.

“You cant decide this in five minutes.” Eric said sensibly, voice low. “Ok? You need time to think it through-“

“I HAVE thought!” Dele frowned, frustrated now. “Listen, I’m not leaving you, I’m not moving to fucking Barcelona without you. Or the dogs.”

Eric exhaled, nodding. He leant in then and kissed Dele gently on the forehead.

Dele clung to him then, cuddling in. “I’m not leaving you, no way.” he repeated his mantra, voice tense.

“Shh.” Eric breathed. “It's ok.”

“I wish he’d never called and told me.” Dele muttered, voice shaky. “Fuck.” He rubbed his eyes, feeling completely thrown off by everything.

“It’s ok, whatever you decide is fine.” Eric said. “Ok? And if you decide to go…” He drew back to look at the younger boy.

“ _IF_ you decide to go, I’m still gonna be supporting you, nothing is gonna change, Del."

“Of course its gonna change! I’m not gonna see you, day to day, week to fucking week, month to MONTH!” Dele spluttered. “No way, I’m not doing it.”

He pressed his face into Eric’s broad shoulder, sniffing.

“You deserve it.” Eric reasoned gently. “Look at you, setting the Premiership on fire, you’re one of England’s best players, ok? You’re gonna  
  
do great things, meet some amazing people-“

“I have met amazing people. You.” Dele muttered.

He lifted his head up then and Eric kissed him, purposefully and lovingly.

“Christ.” he muttered, voice cracking then. “And you’re my great thing, d’ya know that?”

Dele nodded, tears on his face now.

“If you wanted to move to Barca, Del, we’d make it work.” Eric breathed.

“How?” Dele sniffled. “I cant even stand the idea of being away from you and the dogs for a week, never mind MONTHS on end and… there’s  
  
training and games with nolet up. I don’t even know if I WANT to live in Spain.”

He exhaled, biting his lip.

“Shh.” Eric murmured, running a hand up and down Dele’s back. “Relax, ok? You’re shaking. You don’t need to decide any of this now.”

“I love Spurs.” Dele said quietly. “I don’t even think I WANT to.. move to Barcelona, I…”

He slid a hand up the back of Eric’s neck, feeling the rough stubble of his short buzz cut, pausing for a moment.

“What?” Eric whispered.

“I just cant think about leaving you.” Dele muttered. His expression was troubled, worried.

“You cant turn down Barcelona for me, Dele.” Eric said sensibly, voice soft. “I wouldn’t ask you to and I wouldn’t WANT you to, it’s a huge life  
  
changing opportunity toplay with the best players in the world.”

Dele swallowed. “I cant even cope one night of us being apart.” he forced out a laugh. “How would I live on my own in Barcelona  
  
permanently, just surviving off FaceTime?That isn’t gonna make me happy.”

Eric nodded, moving both hands up Dele’s neck and planting a kiss on his forehead.

“It’s nothing to decide in one conversation, ok?” he murmured. “It’s a huge life changing decision. You need to… wait to hear more details  
  
first, ok? Wait til your agentcalls back. Until then, you can't panic or make any solid choices.”

Dele sighed and nodded, shoulders dropping.

He heard the patter of footsteps then and the dogs were back, walking over and trying to wriggle between the two, tails wagging.

Dele smiled, letting go of Eric and leaning down. He stroked the dogs soft fur before sitting on the sofa and patting the empty space.  
  
Both of them leapt up, curling up immediately.

“I'm not leaving you.” Dele muttered.

Eric smiled, squeezing into the last bit of space and pulling Dele to his side and just taking in what had happened.

Despite his brave face, he could feel some anxiety bubbling up and he tried to dampen it down, reminding himself that Dele was still here...  
  
He hadn't goneanywhere. At least not yet.  
  
Now they would have to wait and see what the next phone call held.

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna turn into something long & multi chaptered, I can feel it lol. Sorry for the awful formatting, I attempted this 4 times. Finally, COMMENTS ARE LIFE! Thanks!


End file.
